Electric switch.



c c. STIRLING. ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED 11m.1i.191s.

Patented Sept. 10,1918.

A fjarngy 7 suitable supporting body generally made of insulatingsupporting body 2.

U TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ULH-ENGE C. STIRLING, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HART 8cHEGEKAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA- rrouor OONNECTICUT.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Application filed January n, 1918. Serial No. 211,443.

To all whom it ma concern.

Be it known t at I CLAnnNcn C. Srin- LING, a citizen of the United.States; residing at Hartford, in the county of Iglur. ford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements 1nElectric Switches, of which t e following is a s ification.

his in ention relates to electric switches. The invention may beincorporated in switches of various styles. It is of particularadvantage however, when incorporated in what is own as a pendent snapswitch. One of the primary purposes I have in view is the provision of astructure which is exceedingly compact and which can be readily andeasily snapped between on and off positions. In the drawingsacc'ompanyingnnd forming part of the present specification I have shownin detail a form of embodiment of the invention which I will set forthfully inthe following description to enable those skilled in theert topractise theinventlon. not necessarilyrestricted to this particulardisclosure; I may depart therefrom in several res cots-within the scopeof the inven tion deiined by the claims following said d'cscri tion.

Refgrring to said drawings: I

Figure 1 is an elevation of a switch comprising the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same, the section being fromfront to rear.

Fig. 3 is 'a Section on the line .3-3 of y 2, looking in the directionof the arrows. Fig; 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-.4 of Fig.2, also looking in the direction of. the arrows.

Likecharacters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Thes'witch comprises ini-ts construction a insulating material such asporcelain or vulcanized rubber.- The body shown is denotmi in ageneralway by 2am] it is prod tically of cylindrical sha c. It fits-within ashell-as 3 generally 0 sheet metal, the

shell being practically of hell form and re-- ceivlng comparativelyclosely within it the edges of the parts mentioned are ordinarily flush;said parts may unitedm any de- Iam.

The lower sir-able manner. As a matter of advantage :1 single elementsuch as the pin 4 is shown for this purpose, this pin being usuallydriven through regislcring openings in the two parts. The )in inaddition to connecting the body and shell also as will hcreinafterappear presents a suitable pivot for an actuator for a switching member.The supporting body has diametrically opposite slots as 5 and 6 whichextend for the major part of the depth or'height of the supporting body;The material of the supporting body between the two slots 5 and 6 at thetop presents the maximum diameter of the supporting body and iscontiguous to the inner surface of the inclosing shell 3. To the bottomsof the two Slots 5 and 6 are suitably fastened the shanks of the contactmembers 7 and 8, scrcws'as 9 bein provided to hold the contact membersin place. The contact members above the screws as shown are extendedinward and are then prolonged upward to act as the complemcntul contacts10. The contacts 10 as well as the inwardly prolonged portionsof theconnecting and contact members 7 and 8 are obviously re two screws 9.The supporting body 2 has adiametrical slot 13 into which thecylindrical seats 14 open. These seats 14 receive for rocking motion thecylindrical rocker 15.- The seats 14 in fact intersect the opening 16,the u per portion 17 of the wall of which is on a are or downward orinward taper, diametrically opposite parts of-this flared portron actingas stops for a switching member such as that denoted in a general way by18.

The rocker 15 has a transverse central perforation 19 to receive theshank .20 of they switching member, this shank being slidable throughthe perforation. The shank 20 has at its upper end the head .21 and atits lower end the" foot 22. The shank 20 is also surrounded by thecoiled sprin r 23, the lower end of which bears against 1; e foot 22 andthe upper end of which bears against. the.

ion

rocker 15 this .sprinp; generally being under compression at all times.1

T e actuator for the switching member is denoted in a general way by 24.It comrises a body as 25 preferably made of 1511- i ating material suchas vulcanized rubber. This oscillating bod 25 is supported practicallycentrally of its length by the pin 4 to which I have already referred.It will, therefore, be clear that the insulat ng body of the actuatorcan rock on the pm. Said body 25 is fitted in the slot 13 and at alltimes either one end or the other projects from the slot. It is'equippedw .th the buttons 26 and 27 presenting a convenlent means for obtainingthe necessary oscillation of the body. Other means might conceivably beprovided for this purpose; as a matter of fact in some cases the buttonsmight be omitted and the body 25 d1rectly manipulated. Said body has onits Inner side the an cuate controlling surface 28 which is in theconstruction shown the meansby which the circuit controlling orswitching member 18 is operated; that is moved between the on and theoff positions.

In Fig. 3 the full lines show the parts as off, it being clear that thefoot 22 is at all times contiguous to the arcuate or concaved surface28. The foot 22 is shown in fact near the left end of the said face. Toeffect the closed circuit relation the followin action may be adopted:The button 26 wi 1 be pushed upward, thus rocking the actuator towardthe dotted line position. This particular motion of the actuator causesthe core or pin to move upward, and at the same time traverse thearcuate face 28 toward the right in Fig. 3. This action will continue,the result being the further compression of the spring 23 as the footrides along the face 28. There will be an instant when this face willrelease the foot 22, and as a consequence the switching member 18. Whenthe switching member is released the coiled spring 23 then under maximumcompression will react and thus swing over the switching member 18, sothat the portion 21 will be projected automatically between the twocontacts 10. To open the switch the action described will be reversed.

VVhat' I claim is:

1. A witch comprisin [a supporting body provided with contac s, roc ersu ported by'the body, a shank freely exten "ing through the rocker andhaving a head and a foot at opposite sides ,of the rocker,

the head when the switch is .on bein adapted to engage said contacts, acoile' spring, the sprin actingagainst the rocker and against the ootportion of the shank, and 'an oscillatory actuator having'a faceengagea'ble by the foot, the actuator-as it oscillates being adapted tocause the foot to traverse said controlling face and thus compress. thespring, the actuator when it is moved a. certain distance freeing thefoot and therefore the shank to cause the spring I against the footportion of the shank, and

anoscillatory actuator having a face engage-able by the foot, theactuator as it oscilates being adapted to cause the foot to traversesaid controlling face and thus compress the spring, the actuator when itis moved a certain distance freeing the foot and therefore the shank tocause the spring by reaction to oscillate the shank and there fore therocker to move said head to the off relation, the rocker being providedwith buttons secured to it at opposite sides of its center of motion.

3. A switch comprising a supporting body provided with contacts, arocker in the body,

a shank freely extending through the rocker and having av head and afoot at opposite sides of the rocker, spring means acting against therocker and the foot, and an oscillatory actuator having a controllingface cngageable by the foot, the actuator as it is oscillated beingadapted to cause the foot to traverse said cont-rolling face and torelease the foot and therefore the shank when it has traveled a certaindistance,'the spring means when the foot is thus released actin toimpart a snap movement to the shan and therefore the rocker for thuscausing the movement of the head to on and 01! positions alternately.

4. A switch comprising a supporting body provided int-eriorly thereofwlth contacts, a rocker in the body, a shank freely extending throughthe rocker and having a head and a foot at opposite sides ofthe'roc'ker, a. coiled s against t 'tion of the shank, and anoscillatory actuator mounted within and extending from the body, theactuator having a controlling face engageable by the foot the actuatoras it is oscil foot to traverse said controlling face and thus compressthe spring, the actuator when moved a certain distance freeing the footto cause the spring and therefore the shank by reaction to oscillate theshank and thus the rocker to cause the head to alternatel moye betweenthe on and the off pos1 tions. a

5. A switch comprising a supporting body provided with contacts, a'rocker in the body, a shank freely extending through the rocker andhaving a head and a footat opposite ring around the shank acting erocker and against the foot por-- ated being adapted to cause thesidesof the rocker, the head being adapted to engage the contacts when theswitch is in the on relation, a coiled spring around the shank act 'ngagainst the rocker and against the foot portion of the shank, and anoscillatory actuator having an arcuate face on its inner side engageable by the foot, the

actuator as itis oscillated being adaptedto cause the foot to traversesaid face and thus compress the spr1ng,. the actuator when moved acertain distance freeing the foot and therefore the shank to cause thespring by reaction to oscillate the rocker and thus move said" headalternately between on and ofl' positions.

6. A switch comprisin an insulating supporting body, a shell wit inwhich the body is disposed, a pin uniting the shell and the body, anactuator supported within the body by the pin, and a switching membersupported by and within the body, and

means within the body to causesn'ap movements of the switching memberbetween on and off positions by and on the movement of the actuator.

7; Aswitch com rising an insulating sup-' porting body, a be l-likeshell within which the body is disposed, a single pin uniting the shelland the body, an actuator su ported for oscillation by the pin within't6 body, and switching means carried by the body within the same, andmeans within the body to cause snap movements ofythe

